” An Android developer has agreed to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over a free flashlight app that has been “deceiving” users. Brightest Flashlight Free, available in the Google Play store, has been downloaded over 50 million times, but a complaint from the FTC reveals that the seemingly innocent app transmits “precise location” data to third-party advertisers alongside a unique device identifier. The FTC says an option to prevent the location-sharing “deceived consumers,” as the data was automatically shared before users could disable it.”

Brightest Flashlight should be pilloried for this sneaky method of doing business but the real story is the hypocrisy of a government agency (FTC) that pretends to defend our rights to privacy while other agencies (NSA) render that effort fruitless . As much as we detest the fact that the flashlight app helps track people , the fact that the NSA tracks EVERYONE who has a cell phone whether it is powered up or not makes the FTC’s efforts nothing more than a steaming pile of bull***t .

1 Comment:

Great observation. I can’t recall the source, but a similar comparison was made with respect to the Affordable Care Act: if a private insurance company made similar false claims or provided such inadequate security for its customers’ data, the FTC would shut it down.